Name that Honorary Doctor!

Is it really necessary to put down a denomination like that? Where I come from, that's called bigotry. I don't put down Southern Baptists. I'm Independant Fundamental and I have no desire to get a degree without earning it. Furthermore, I don't put any Christian on a pedistal, regardless of the denomination or how they earned their degree. We are all sinners in God's eyes and we deserve Hell. In fact, people who claim to be Christians are the last people I'd want to do business with...especially when they stress the fact while they're trying to sell me on their goods. If I do decide to do any business with them, it's only after a long and hard period of consideration and prayer. They have ripped me off too many times in the past and I have eventually learned from my mistakes. I'm not sure if it's because they thought I trusted them since I was a Christian or because they trusted in their salvation to the point that they felt they could get away with anything and still get to Heaven...whatever the reason, I have unsaved friends who are so loving and honest that you'd think they were saved. Unfortunately, they are trying to work their way to Heaven, but that's what keeps them honest.

And, yes, I'm aware that I also made a bigotted statement toward Christians, but I AM one. I was simply pointing out that IFBs aren't out to put our pastors on a pedistal or striving to meet that goal ourselves.

 

Paul, u think you been burned? The man who led me to understanding of water baptism and so forth.. a man i looked up to and he was a close friend. Became a car salesman. He invited me to his lot and when i went there, he offered me $100 off a car sticker price that was over 20,000 bucks. thats the "best he could do" haha...yeah.. i run too. I know the feeling.

 

The "honorary" doctors may be good teachers, but they should not use the title of doctor. This is dishonest, and cheapens those who have done the work, study and research to EARN a doctorate degree.

 

Dr. Peter Sturges "Possel" Ruckman, the KJVO folks' bad boy, received a doctroate in PHILOSOPHY from Bob Jones University. How genuine it is, I won't speculate about.

I'll still refer to him as Dr. Ruckman...but unless he does a 180 on his wacko views(The Antichrist will be a 10-foot tall alien with black lips, landing a mile-wide ship on the Mt. of Olives) I won't believe a word he says.

 

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Maybe that's why the the Lord says we need to love our enemies. Those are the only people we can trust.

 

Went to a youth meeting tonight. The preacher, a good man with a lot of power, said..."Figure this out... Jesus told Peter, "Get behind thee, Satan" and he called Judas his "friend".

Yeah, I know Ruckman personally, and he has a doctorate from BJU, it is earned. Nobody should believe everything another man says.

I realized I made a mistake when I type a response to this thread earlier.. I would NOT accept an honorary doctorate for the same reason Roloff gave.

 

How about an honorary doctorate for longevity in school? 3 years in junior college, 3 more years for bachelors degree and then 8.5 years in seminary for M.Div...i think i covered enough time for one of those bad boys! ROFL!
I knew that one day all those long hours of ping pong during my first 2 freshman years would pay off!

Just kidding, personally i'm of the camp that i would rather earn one. And even then, i don't know if i would want to be called "Dr" since i'm not real big on titles for myself anyway.

bobbyd

 

Rumor has it that the faculty didn't want to grant Ruckman the doctorate because his dissertation wasn't doctoral quality, but Bob Sr. overruled them because Ruckman was so busy and effective in revivalism.

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Dr. Pipedude

 

I have a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Piedmont Baptist Coll. in Winston Salem NC. An accredited Ind. Bapt. school. The school has been in existance for almost 50 years and I believe they have only handed out maybe 3 honorary Doctorates.
They have sent out 100's and 100's of good, well grounded missionaries and pastors throughout the world.

 

Rumor has it that the faculty didn't want to grant Ruckman the doctorate because his dissertation wasn't doctoral quality, but Bob Sr. overruled them because Ruckman was so busy and effective in revivalism.

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Dr. Pipedude </font>[/QUOTE]One apocryphal story is that Ruckman’s dissertation was the last one read by Dr. Charles Brokenshire, the Princeton and Univ. of Chicago stalwart of the Bible faculty. They found him dead in his office the next morning with his face lying on ole Pete’s dissertation. He had supposedly written in pencil: “This man is a genius! Hire him for the faculty.”

Of course, you can imagine who is circulating this story.

 

I agree and I find nothing wrong or 'phony' about this type of degree.

Anyone with a long life of ministry has done much studying.

Would anyone consider a G.E.D. 'phony' because the recepient did not graduate from High School?

 

I agree and I find nothing wrong or 'phony' about this type of degree. </font>[/QUOTE]The degree itself is not phony. What one does with it is what can be phony. If you try to pass off an honorary doctorate as an earned doctorate, that's dishonest. Honorary doctorate recipients should not go by "Doctor" unless they have an earned degree.

We don't see actors going around saying, "Hi, I'm John Doe, Lifetime Achievement Award!" Why should ministers be much different?

 

A person in a life long ministry HAS earned it.

To deny this is like scoffing at someone who received a degree through home-study courses instead of sitting in front of a teacher...

 

PhD's are awarded for completion of a prescribed course of study AND original contributions to the body of knowledge in the field.

Long ministry does not make comprehensive exams, seminars, and a dissertation.

 

It's not the same, really. A home-study course is still structured and still has specific requirements.

If we awarded earned PhD's simply for doing ministry over a course of a lifetime, should we award MDs for a lifetime of first aid?

 

The life-long Pastors, that I know personally, have fulfilled all the requirements to earn a degree (and more) except for taking the test.

I respect 'some' people who have gotten degrees through formal education. I also respect 'some' people who have been given honorary degrees. I respect a LOT of people who have NO degrees.

A man can have the whole alphabet behind his name, but if he has no wisdom (sometimes gained from a lifetime of service) then he is nothing more than an educated fool...

 

I Am Blessed 16, I agree that respect has nothing to do with degrees. However, a degree is not "taking the test".

There is research, writing, exposure to a broad variety of subject matter, and other reviewed work involved. It is not unsupervised study and taking a test.

For people who have been given "honorary" doctorates to use the title Dr. is dishonest. This is why they are honorary...used to recognize and honor a person, not to confer any titles upon them.